Our second scheduled afternoon tea in Austin while we were visiting Irene was at the elegant Hotel Ella. Goodall’s Kitchen dining room was a lovely space for the tea. We needed to purchase the teas at $25 per person in advance and afternoon tea was served only on weekends between 3-5 p.m.
We chose a 4:00 p.m. sitting. After a bit of fun trying to find parking near the hotel, we arrived 15 minutes early and sat in the small bar while we waited only minutes to be seated. Our prompt server explained the tea service at Hotel Ella, and tactfully mentioned that we could also order additional food from the menu, which was our first clue that the food served was probably not enough for a proper meal.
We selected our tea (Austin based Zhi teas). Nick chose Turkish Spice Mint, Lisa chose Ginger Peach Oolong and Irene chose Earl Grey. Each of us had a generous pot of tea and they made us more after Nick and Lisa drank their 2.5 cups.
The three-tiered stand arrived and while the food looked lovely, the amount of food was a bit of a disappointment. The items on the plates were about the size of a quarter or smaller. Savories were h’or d’oeuvres-sized chicken salad, salmon, tomato and basil treats. They made Nick a special mushroom with avocado puree canape since he’s allergic to salmon. Sweets were tiny cream puffs, teeny macarons (chocolate, strawberry and coffee flavored) and a blackberry tart (yummy bite).
And to Lisa’s heartache — no scones, no jam, no clotted cream. It’s a bit sad, but we had to go get Whataburgers after the meal as we left hungry.
Each canape and small sweet did taste very good, hence the three-starred review. But unless you eat like a bird, think of this as a long, pre-meal appetizer.
Cost: $96.17 US for three people including gratuity.
Afternoon Tea Time with Lisa & Nick 